Upholstery Cleaning Tips & Hacks
Upholstery cleaning is important if you have ever had upholstered furniture, then you no doubt understand the struggle that can come with keeping it in good condition. Kids, pets, and snack time accidents can all cause damage to your favorite furniture. If you are tired of looking at these stains and have no desire to hire a professional cleaner, then we are here to help you out! We have gathered up some of our favorite tips and hacks for upholstery cleaning.
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- Use hot water: This will be your starting step. You should spray the entire fabric surface with this to help loosen up the dirt and soften the fibers before you begin any cleaning. Plus, spritzing the whole surface will keep any water spots from forming, since the whole thing will be wet. As far a water temperature, just as hot as your tap can go.
- Treating stains: There are a few methods you can play with here.
- Watered-down laundry stain remover can be used as a great stain treatment. Use a mixture of 4 parts water to 1 part stain remover. You can use your choice of stain remover but be sure to check the ingredients…if it has hydrogen peroxide in it you need to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t have time to dry and create a light spot on your upholstery. If you choose to use this method and it’s a stain remover that suds up, you will want to follow afterward with a mix of 1 cup sparkling water and ½ cup vinegar to remove the soapy residue.
- DIY is also an option for stain remover. You can mix equal parts rubbing alcohol and vinegar with a few drops of your favorite essential oil in a spray bottle, shaking it up before use.
- Use white cotton cloths to wipe/scrub the stains. This is a key thing to keep in mind. Using white cloths will prevent any color transfer during the process, as well as allow you to see when you need to switch the part of the cloth you’re cleaning with. When it comes to scrubbing, you want to use some pressure but not too much. Move in either a back and forth or a circular motion for the best results.
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- Dealing with pilling: Once your fabric dries, you may notice that you have a bunch of little bits of lint and pilling making it look old. While this isn’t a huge issue, it can be fixed if you want to! Get yourself a fabric shaver and run that over the surface to remove the pills and make it nice and smooth again.
- Smelly couch? You can fix that: While fabric couches are oh so comfy, they also have a tendency to trap smells. If you’ve started to notice an odor, sprinkle some baking soda across the couch surface and let it sit for 30 minutes and then vacuum it up. This should help neutralize the smell.
- Protect for the future: The best way to keep from having to put in all of this work to clean your upholstery is by preventing it from getting dirty! Use a couple light coats of Scotchguard to protect your fabric furniture, letting it dry completely between layers.
Fabric furniture really is the coziest, so you will want to keep yours around and in good condition for as long as possible. Hopefully, the tips in this article will help you with upholstery cleaning and smelling fresh for you and others to enjoy for a long time to come! Come back to see us for more tips in the future.
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